A little out of breath but pumped
from a strenuous bike ride – all systems
go with the well oxygenated blood flowing
through newly established pathways

mind crackling with delight with endorphins
and thoughts of days and events past
and yet to happen in my dreams I now
bring to the fore to bask in the grayness
of a Seattle morning in mid-September.

The wind of a fan feels cool on my back
as sweat runs into my mouth in salty bursts
and the soul feels the freest when the body
is primed for flight and fanciful deeds at least
once more in perpetuity defensible in the courts
of wisdom and the grit of factories and smelters
running in my blood to make that fit in any world.

Phrases are to be more than turned and twisted
but rather woven and tangled to offer a challenge
that may yield an experience yet unfelt regardless
of the minds bend or disposition which is why I find
it compelling to be able to abide in any camp unnoticed
to take on the raiment of brotherhood true and speak
from the well of experience with an unusual light
from the glow of other camps shunned by the present

I have fallen with drunkards and toasted the rich
and labored in sweat and soot while studying the arts
counseled the corporate and painted the unseen
while mastering selling and driving for days
assembled the engines and gears in cars and trucks
and written soft love songs straight from the heart
been a trained killer and marched for others’ rights
taught in colleges and burger joints where pigeons eat
the refuse of us all to be able to fit in any crowd and see
what it looks like from there inside, where the hearts are.

Hearing this rang a bell with me
that’s exactly how I feel about my life
I don’t like work and can’t bring myself to steal
nor do I do well as self-employed
unless the work comes to me

I’m a lone wanderer and a watcher
rather than a joiner or teammate
and my life’s path has been just that
a meander without many lasting connections
to hold me down as I float free from the web

that seems to hold everyone else
in comfort and ease to do what they please
while I bounce along on the periphery
risking all and gaining little
but happy nonetheless to hang there

so when I leave this iteration
there will be but a faint imprint
where I have trod though I’d like it to be more
something of value that made the world
a better place for my heirs and more

Something of spirit now moves me to dance
and sing along with the winds of change
to ring out clearly and linger on
in the hearts and souls of my progeny
to pass on through love to this world and beyond

Too lazy to work, too nervous to steal
brave enough to sing and make it all real.